A Time of War
by HoshiNoKaabi
Summary: There are two sides to a war; what happens on the battlefield, and what happens within a kingdom's walls. And what happens in Skyworld with Pit's mate and children throughout the uprising is a story seldom told...(Sequel to Forest Roots)
1. Taken to the Skies

**Hello readers, and welcome to** ** _A Time of War._** **This story is a direct sequel to my first one, Forest Roots, and spans across the events of** ** _Uprising._**

 **If you haven't read Forest Roots yet, I strongly advise you do so, because it will help you really understand the idea behind this one, and understand the original concepts and characters that I have used in this story.  
**

 **And once again, have a good read and a good day!**

* * *

 _"You bring them? I assume that's why you're here."_

 _"Y-Yes, I did. I'll go get them."_

 _She headed off into the forest, to the crooked oak trees. After several minutes, she came back, with two kits; a brown-haired tom that looked just like him, and a red-haired she-kit._

 _"Here they are. Pikekit and Mintkit. Please, take care of them well."_

 _"Where's the other one?"_

 _"Dead."_

 _She slowly started to walk away, but kept looking back at her kits, who watched her slightly shocked._

 _"Mama, come back!"_

 _"Where are you going?"_

 _"Are you coming back to get us?"_

 _She took off running as fast she could go into the forest, unable to bear listening to their heart-wrenching cries._

* * *

Millie glanced down at the small necklace she had in her hand as the memory faded away. Like most of the necklaces given to young kits, it was fairly simple in design, decorated only with a single, large owl feather. It had once belonged to her daughter, Leafkit, who she lost while taking her kits to their father.

The decision to give away her kits had hit her much harder emotionally than she'd prepared for. She'd known it was going to be really hard decision to make, and that it came with the risk that they would end up forgetting her, but forcing her kits to trek through the forest in such savage weather, losing Leafkit, and hearing the remaining two cry out to her like she was abandoning them had just about broke her heart.

As for her tribe, they believed her kits were dead; she'd made it look like they'd been stolen by some animal, driven by starvation to venture into the camp for the first time. The tribe had scoured the forest for moons, but of course, they were unable to find anything, except for Leafkit's necklace, which Millie had purposely taken from the kit's body and left lying in the snow that had piled up over the hole. It was the only thing she had to remember them now.

A loud _bang_ snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see a familiar figure fly overhead. He was carrying something that was sort of shaped like some weapons she'd seen humans use to hunt deer. Whatever it was, that was what made the loud noise, because she heard it again as he shot down some snake-like creature that had huge fangs and a small pair of wings on its back, near its head. The angel flew off into the distance, and vanished.

"Millie, what are you doing out here?"

A soft voice made her jump, and she turned around to see a ten-year-old apprentice with black-and-raven streaked hair standing a few feet behind her.

"Oh, it's you, Crowpaw. You kind of scared me. Aren't you supposed to be helping Whitefeather?"

"Yeah, but she didn't have anything for me to do, so I decided to practice tracking."

"Huh. Well, I'm impressed you managed to track this far, considering you can't see."

"Who needs eyesight when you can just follow your nose?"

Millie nodded once.

"That is true. I remember teaching you that once. I'll give you a point for that."

The apprentice smiled proudly.

A year after Millie had "lost" her kits, she'd been given Crowpaw as an apprentice. Sadly, Crowpaw had to give up on her ambition of being a warrior after she developed an infection in her eyes that left her blind. Instead, she was given the offer to become a tribe healer, which she didn't hesitate to accept, and it had proven to be a pleasant experience for her.

"Anyway, I'm always finding you out here, by the crooked oak trees. Why?"

Millie hesitated for a long while.

"It's...I think of my kits, for some reason, whenever I'm here. Maybe it's because Leafkit's necklace was found here, but I don't really know. I come here to remember the kits I once had."

"Oh, okay."

The apprentice turned to leave, but looked back for a minute.

"I would ask if what you told the tribe is a lie, but I've got the feeling it's something I'm not supposed to know."

Millie watched nervously as Crowpaw headed off into the forest. Crowpaw wasn't the only person who suspected that she'd staged losing her kits. Cedarstar, Swiftwind, and Darkpool did too. Much to her relief, Thistleheart believed her story that her kits had been stolen, however, he did once tell her that "they were better off dead anyway", which only made her even more emotionally hurt by her decision to give them up. At least he didn't have any suspicion that her kits really were still alive, and being raised happily someplace he couldn't go.

 _It's been so long...I wish I could see them...and Pit...I wonder what's going on...what was that he was carrying? And what's with the monsters around?_

As if on cue, she saw glittering light appear in the sky, which Pit's form soon became visible against. He fluttered his wings as he landed in front of her.

"I saw you as I flew by. You're probably wondering what's going on."

"Yes, I am."

"You know how I told you that Medusa, goddess of the Underworld, had taken over my home once before?"

"Yeah. You told me that when you first came here a few years ago."

"I thought I defeated her for good...Apparently not. She's started a war against us again."

"Oh. By the way, how are our kits?"

"They're fine. They love it up there, in Skyworld. Especially the tom. It's almost like having two of me with him around."

"Oh...I feel like it's been forever since I saw them last..."

Millie paused for a long moment. A sudden idea then just came to her.

"You don't suppose you could bring me to Skyworld?"

"What?!"

"So I could care for the kits. I've got the feeling you're going to be gone a lot, and with me there to watch them, I feel like it would help you a bit."

He gazed at her for a moment, a look of caution in his eyes.

"It's just...You won't be able to really get around without me. You'll be stuck in Palutena's Temple. Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm doing this for you."

"Okay, if you insist..."

He got down on one knee, and gestured for her to get on. She leaned forward and firmly gripped his shoulders. Once she had a solid hold on him, he spread his wings and took off. She saw his wings flash a bright blue and a shimmering light enveloped them as he left the ground, and headed for his home.

"The thing I don't get Pit, is you told me you were flightless. Yet, you're flying now."

Pit felt his face get warm.

"Well...let's just say I can't fly by myself. Right now, I'm flying with Lady Palutena's help. It's called the Power of Flight. But the thing is, it only lasts for five minutes, after that, my wings will burn up."

"Sounds really painful."

"Sure does."

Pit slowed down almost to the point of hovering as his home came into view. Millie swept her gaze across the site, fascinated by it all. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before; huge chunks of land floating in the sky, with beautiful structures on them. Strange, humanoid beings with wings growing out the back of their heads swarmed around.

"Those are centurions, Lady Palutena's rank-and-file troops. They're all pretty much grunts, and can be revived if they die."

"Oh. What about you?"

"Lady Palutena can heal injuries I receive, but she can't do much if I were to die. Being an angel doesn't make me not human in some way at all. I've only got one life."

"Oh. Makes sense."

Pit went into a steady glide to allow Millie to get a good idea for his home. Moments later, she took notice a huge structure bigger than any of the others. It seemed to almost overlook the rest of the realm.

"That's Palutena's Temple, where I raised the little ones. They should be waiting outside for me."

Sure enough, two kids were playing in the garden outside. Both of them looked up at the exact same time when Pit's shadow cast over them.

"Daddy! You're back!"

The two of them practically jumped on him when he landed. He quickly shooed them away to let Millie get off of his back. Once she'd let go, he let them climb and pounce on him, and the angel playfully flopped onto his side and rolled over, pretending to be defeated by the two little ones.

Millie couldn't help but be amazed by just how much her kits had grown; they looked to be about six years old now, and almost twice the size they were when she'd given them up. Their faces hadn't changed much, save for the fact they'd lost some of the babyish roundness in their cheeks, so they didn't look quite as youthful as before. The tom's eyes had also gotten slightly darker somehow, and she could've sworn had it not have been for his darker hair, he could've easily been mistaken for his father.

But the thing that surprised her the most was, sprouting from the kits' shoulder blades, were tiny wings! They were all fluffy down, except for on the edges, where there was a row of spindly structures that would eventually form into their primary feathers needed for flight. Directly underneath them on the kits' backs were dark lines that vaguely looked like scarring on their backs. Since it was right underneath their wings, Millie couldn't help but wonder where such marks could've come from.

After a while, the two seemed to get tired of playing, and started heading inside. They didn't seemed to have noticed her at all, which was understandable, as they'd come to see Pit as their main parental figure. On a whim, she called to them.

"Pikekit! Mintkit!"

The two of them stopped, and looked back, in a mix of curiosity and confusion. Their eyes went wide when they saw her.

"Mama?"

They ran up and firmly put their arms around her, in an attempt to hug her. Millie got down on her knees, and set them on her lap so she could hug them both in return. She gently stroked them as pure joy filled her.

"I've missed you two so much."

Pikekit nuzzled his head up under her chin, his soft hair tickling her neck.

"We've missed you too."

Mintkit suddenly yanked herself free.

"And we're not "kits" anymore. Daddy calls us Pikepaw and Mintpaw now. We're apprentices now!"

Millie looked up as Pit came up to her.

"I told them everything. About you, the tribes, the forest, and why you gave them up to me. I may not be a tribe leader, but I felt that it would be to some benefit to consider them apprentices, since they are at the age in which kits would become apprentices in the tribes."

"That is true. And I'm actually kind of glad you did."

Millie let go of the two, and stood up as they disappeared into the temple.

"Hey Millie, your tribe doesn't happen to know why you're gone, do they?"

She shook her head.

"No. But they'll understand why. They know how close I am to you, so they'll figure I'm with you. And I don't plan to stay here for too long."

"Okay. I don't really like it too much when you go making bold moves like this, but then you probably know the tribe better than I do. And I've seen for myself that they trust you and the decisions you make."

Millie couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that.

"You're starting to sound like Cedarstar."


	2. Showing the Ropes

_Note: This chapter features a description of the interior of the Arms Altar and what it would look like to Pit. It's a hit-and-miss description, because we as the player don't know what it actually looks like, and obviously what we see in the menu isn't exactly what Pit would see, so please forgive me if anything seems a little off.  
_

* * *

Having been born as a loner, Millie had seen the inside of man-made structures before, but never had she seen anything like Palutena's Temple.

It was built of white and gold stone, with intricate designs carved into the trims of the walls. Statues of angels and griffins carved from white stone stood guard in the entrances of hallways, and flowerbeds encircled the base of some pillars throughout the temple. Much of it was lit by the natural sunlight, but where it wasn't, ornate light fixtures on the walls provided illumination. Some smaller rooms were lit by the warm glow emitted from what looked to be pools of hot water that was oddly tinted yellow.

"Those are hot springs," Pit explained to her once as he was showing her around.

"Oh. Is there a reason for the color of the water?"

The angel shrugged.

"I don't know, that never struck me as unusual. Though I will tell you that they have magical properties that allows them to heal wounds, which is usually what they're used for. They also make for pretty good bathtubs. But more often than not, I'll get in them for comfort. Really, it feels good being in that warm water."

"I bet so."

The last thing Pit showed her was a huge, brightly lit room. Glowing steps led up to a pair of doors where a light shone through a sliver of a crack between them. On either side of the steps was a door. A pair of light fixtures shone down on either side of both doors, though the ones on the right were higher up on the wall, and on the floor in the middle of the room was a symbol that Millie couldn't quite make out.

"This room is fairly new. It's where I arm myself and head out on missions."

"Where do the two doors on the side go?"

"The one on the left goes to the practice range, where I can work on my skills. The one on the right..."

He hesitated for a second.

"...I think it's easier if I just showed you."

Millie followed him through the door.

It led to a smaller room lit by a light fixture above the door. Along the back wall was ten pedestals neatly lined up, each with a different symbol projected above them. On either side of them were doors.

"This is called the Arms Altar, and it's where I arm myself for battle. Those symbols are representing different kinds of weapons. I've been using a bow as a weapon for a while now, but recently, others have been crafted that I can use."

Millie just nodded once to show she was listening.  
Pit walked up to one of the pedestals, and brushed his hand across its surface. The symbol above the pedestal pulsed, and seemed to fly up into the air as it faded away. A familiar form was projected in its place. Pit reached up like he was going to grab it, at the same time it materialized into an actual object. The symbol reappeared as he grabbed it.

What he was holding now was the same thing she'd seen him with a few days ago. It was shaped like what some humans used for hunting, only held differently. It was blue and white except for the handle and the tip, which were blackish in color. Three arcs of pure light circled the outer point where it dramatically curved.

"I saw you carrying something like that the other day," Millie remarked. "What is it?"

"It's a blade, one of the new kinds of weapons I can use in battle. Specifically, it's called a First Blade. There are others."

"Oh. It's sort of shaped like these things I've seen humans use to hunt deer."

Pit shrugged, not entirely sure of what she was talking about.

"I suppose. Except a blade can be used for both up close and long distance fighting. Most human weapons can't be used for both."

"That's true. At least as far as I know."

He went up to the pedestal and made the motion like he was going to set it down on top of the pedestal. The symbol flew up into the air and the blade began to glow and hovered above the pedestal for a second before it went up in a shaft of light and the symbol reappeared.

As the two left the Arms Altar, Millie reflected on everything she'd learned from him, and realized that Pit really was alone most of the time. Even with Palutena around, she rarely was in the same place as him, and was usually busy taking care of her own responsibilities, leaving Pit on his own. The last few days had given her an idea of just how lonesome and almost meaningless of a life he led.

 _I can imagine things were much different when the others were around,_ she thought.

* * *

 _Oh yes, things were very different,_ a dark figure muttered from his place up in the shadows of the rafters, his icy blue eyes gazing down at the magical fountain in the room below. Medusa stood gazing into it as well, her eyes glittering with frustration. She did not seem to be aware of the figure's presence.

"You think you killed us all," the figure whispered, smirking at the dark goddess. "but you are wrong. We are tougher than you think. Julia and the other purebloods may be gone, but we who have lived down here for so long shall rejoin with the surface world someday, and start a new. Bring back our species from the brink of extinction. You just wait."

That last statement made Medusa look up, but then a Syren flew by squawking, and she shook it off as nothing. The figure left the fortress and took off for home, his tawny wings becoming dappled orange and red by the fiery glow of lava flowing down below.


	3. While Pit is Away

The distant sound of footsteps and the flapping of wings made Millie's ears twitch, but she didn't think much of it, for she knew it was just Pit heading out on a mission. Pikepaw and Mintpaw looked up too, then glanced over at their mother. Pikepaw sat up to get her attention.

"Mom, that was daddy leaving, right?"

Millie looked over at the tom.

"Yes, it was. I wouldn't worry, though."

"Oh, okay."

Pikepaw went back to grooming his wings.

Millie sat on Pit's bed, examining a wooden bow she found hidden in his dresser once. It was a plain bow made of dark wood, similar in design to the bows used by Skytribe for hunting purposes. She'd been rather baffled when she initially found it, and couldn't help but wonder where Pit got it, or why he had it.

"That bow once belonged to an old friend of mine."

An unfamiliar voice made her jump, and she looked up to see a centurion standing on the balcony. He was about the size of a strongarm, but he wasn't quite that muscular, and he had a quiver strapped to his back. Around his neck was a light blue crystal containing the insignia of Palutena's Army.

"I apologize for spooking you. My name is Chiron. I was a mentor for Pit when he was their age."

He gestured to Pikepaw and Mintpaw.

"You were?"

"Hard to believe, I know, since I am a centurion, and we are thought to be simple creatures, lacking the complexity of the human mind. But that is not the case with me. I, for some reason unknown, possess the mind and soul that human beings hold. I can think, reason, feel, learn, and remember. I've got significantly more endurance than others of my kind, and I can make my own choices. That's why I was chosen to mentor Pit."

The centurion looked down at the ground.

"But not always was that the case. Although a fleeting memory now, there was a time when I was as simple-minded as others of my kind. I couldn't tell you what that was like, though. I can't even remember anything I saw or heard during that time."

Millie's eyes went wide.

"Then how did you get your unique soul?"

Chiron sat down beside her and picked up the bow.

"I've always had a human soul. It's my complex mindset of which I lacked. That I had to learn."

He closed his eyes for a minute.

"You have probably heard Pit mention that other angels once lived here, in this heavenly realm."

"Yes I have," Millie nodded.

"And there were. But the angels Pit knew weren't the only ones to live here. I've told Pit this story once before, but you haven't heard it, so I'll tell it to you too. For generations before, countless angels of varying origin lived on the outer islands of Skyworld. They weren't affiliated with the goddess; or anyone, for that matter. They only came here in search of a peaceful place to live.

It was one of these ancient angels who shed a whole new light on me. He was flightless, due to a wing deformity he was born with. But he made up for it in how in-tune he was to others emotions. He'd sensed the unique spirit I carry, and taught me the ways of the human mind. It was thanks to him I acquired my personality and ability to think. Sadly, he died not long after I'd finished my training sessions with him."

"What happened to him?"

"He came down with an illness no one knew how to cure. He was about your age when he died."

The centurion ran his fingers along the curvature of the bow.

"And this bow once belonged to him. I kept it so I would never forget him, and everything he did for me."

He handed the bow to her. She set it down, and returned her gaze to the centurion.

"What was his name?"

Chiron looked over at her then glanced down for a second.

"Antonio."

* * *

 _"Is THIS a dead end?"_

 _"Yes...? No...? Uh..."_

 _"We're losing our grip here!"_

 _"No, I just need to think."_

 _"Could you think a little faster please?"_

Pikepaw and Mintpaw looked at each other, and laughed. It seemed to them their father was a lot less mature when he wasn't at home, and the two kits found it fun to listen to Palutena communicate with him, when that immaturity kicked in.

After a while, the two got tired of listening to them, and went to go find their mother. She was outside, in the garden.

"I'll always love nature, which is why I like living in the tribes so much," she told them. "I make the most of it here by hanging around in this garden."

 _whoo! whoo! ooh-ooh!_ Two distinct owl's calls came from above, and Millie looked up to see, sure enough, two small owls perched on a low branch in the laurel tree. One was pale brown with bright greenish-yellow eyes, and the other was a golden tawny color, its wing and tail feathers torn and frayed.

On a whim, Pikepaw crouched down and crept forward until he was directly underneath the two birds. Just when the owls seemed to settle, he leaped straight up, his arms outstretched. But the owls somehow knew he was coming, and took off without warning, merely two seconds before Pikepaw would've caught them. The tom hit his head on the branch and fell back down on his side.

"Are you okay?"

Mintpaw came up to him and helped him get up. He shook his head to clear it, and looked at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. That was pitiful, though. How in the world did they now I was coming?"

"I don't think those were just birds," Millie remarked, more to herself than her kids. "There was something about their appearance, particularly the golden one, that tells me they weren't plain owls. I...I think they might have been spirits."

"Spirits? What are those? Are they like Startribe?"

"Yes."

"Oh, okay."

There was a minute of silence.

"Hey mom, watch this!"

Pikepaw climbed up onto a rock and jumped off. But the minute his feet left the ground, he spread his wings and rapidly beat them. He dropped a few inches, then unsteadily began to hover. He flew over to his mother, smiling.

"Look at me! I'm flying!"

Millie just stared at the apprentice in shock.

"You are flying. But how is that possible? Your wings are so small..."

"Chiron told us we were of the age that angels were capable of flying, so he's been teaching us."

Mintpaw came up, smiling.

Millie turned to her daughter.

"Oh, he has?"

"Uh-huh. It's scary, but we trust him."

"How is it scary?"

"You know how birds learn to fly by being kicked out of the nest? Similar thing."

"Oh. That does sound scary."

"I asked daddy once if he could watch us learn to fly," Pikepaw piped up. "But he didn't want to. He said it scared him."

Millie averted her gaze to the tom, surprised.

"How come? Did he tell you why?"

"No. I asked him, but he just took off, and didn't answer me. It was weird though, he had a look on his face like he didn't want to think about it. Like he was terrified of the fact we were jumping off a high place to learn how to fly."

"Maybe that's why daddy can't fly," Mintpaw piped up. "He was too scared to try, so he never learned how to."

That last bit made Millie glance over at her daughter for a minute, then gaze down as her mind started to wonder if that was potentially the case; could a lack of knowledge be the reason for Pit's inability to fly? She recalled what Pit had told her when he fell and injured his shoulder. He'd said that he could glide, and extend his jumps. That confirmed his wings were able to provide enough lift for him to get off the ground and stay in the air for a time. But then why didn't he learn to fly, when he was physically capable of doing so? Fear didn't seem like a logical reason. And surely, Palutena would've provided him with the opportunity to learn, even if she didn't have the close bond with him that she had now. So then what could it be?

"I don't know...maybe. But I don't think fear would be the cause."

"Oh. I was just sort of making that up."

Mintpaw followed her brother inside, as Palutena came out.

"I heard you three talking. Pit just came back, he's bathing in the springs right now. But I thought I just quickly speak with you, now that we're alone."

Millie didn't know what to think. Palutena took her silence as an answer, and sat down beside her.

"I'm going to tell you the real reason why Pit is flightless. Chiron and I have kept this secret for years, and I'd like you to do the same."

"Okay."

Palutena paused for a minute.

"Mintpaw is correct in part; Pit doesn't know how to fly."

"But why doesn't he? You gave him the chance to learn, didn't you?"

Palutena shook her head.

"No. And that's just it. I deliberately didn't teach him how to fly."

Millie was utterly shocked.

"Why? You gave him wings for a reason, didn't you?"

"Yes I did, but not so he could fly. When I first brought him here after I found him, he was fascinated watching my centurions fly around, and I decided to give him wings so he would feel more at ease here. I'd planned on removing his wings after I returned him to his parents."

"But his parents are dead, and were at the time you brought him here."

"I didn't know that at the time. Nor did that seem like a possibility when I found him."

The goddess averted her gaze to the small willow tree at the other end of the garden.

"When I first saw him curled up alone under that lone willow, I thought he was just lost, and had gotten separated from his family somehow. Because of that, I figured there was a good chance his parents, or other relatives were looking for him, and I only intended on caring for him until I located his family so I could return him to them. For that reason, I didn't teach him how to fly, because I didn't want him growing accustomed to being able to do something he wouldn't normally be able to do. In fact, I didn't even start calling him Pit until months after I found him."

She paused for a second.

"Pit was six years old when I was made aware that his parents were dead. After years of seeing no sign that anyone was looking for him, I gave up searching, and decided the only way I was going to get anywhere was asking him. And he told me that his parents both died, one of which he witnessed losing, and that as a result, the rest of his family assumed he was gone too. I was going to teach him after I found that out, but Pit seemed so happy with the way things were that I chose not to. I feel kind of bad, thinking about it now, because he's at the age now that most kids start becoming more independent and less reliant on their parents, and because he doesn't know how to fly, he can't go anywhere really without my assistance. It feels as though I've trapped him in Skyworld, like a bird in a cage."

Palutena looked up as a white feather floated by. She glanced over her shoulder to see Pit standing beneath the laurel tree. His head was angled as though he was looking at her, but his eyes held a distant look that indicated he wasn't really looking at anything. He gazed down at the ground for a second before closing his eyes, in deep thought.

"Pit...?"

Pit didn't respond. He reached down into the front of his chiton and pulled out Keto's necklace, then opened his hand to reveal a silver-colored feather that Palutena recognized as one of Keto's feathers.

"I never would've found out if you hadn't been around," he said, more to himself than them. "I wish I knew why..."

He went back inside, having apparently not heard their conversation at all. Millie and Palutena looked at each other for a minute, then headed in as well, as a tern flew down and perched atop the willow tree, its dark eyes shining as it watched them with a look of cherish and remembrance.


	4. Raven Angel

Mintpaw pressed her wings flat against her back as she pulled her tunic down over her head, spreading them up and out when Pit pulled down the back of it, where it was cut low to allow her wings to spread out. She went to put on her sandals, when Pikepaw snatched one of them and took off.

"See ya!"

"Hey! Get back here!"

She chased him for a minute then jumped up and spread her wings, rapidly beating them in an attempt to fly, but she only managed to get a foot off the ground for a few seconds before her wings gave out, and she flipped over, landing on her back. Pikepaw landed on the balcony, where he dropped her sandal, before leaving again.

"Still can't do it, huh?"

Mintpaw scowled as she grabbed her sandals and put them on.

"Be quiet."

Pit chuckled amusingly at Mintpaw's reply, much to her chagrin.

Once Mintpaw had strapped on her sandals, she ran off in search of her brother. Pit lay down on his bed, gazing up at the ceiling, in thought, when a black feather whizzed over his head. He got up and headed to the main hall, while unknowingly, a dark figure circled in the sky overhead, like a raven searching for its next meal.

* * *

Mintpaw spent a good several minutes looking around until she finally found Pikepaw on an island near Palutena's temple, along with Chiron. The centurion was teaching him how to dive.

"Now, you don't want to use your wings when you dive, because if you're diving to rescue someone, it will make it harder to catch up to them. What you want to do is just fold your wings and let gravity do the work."

"But how do I stop myself?"

"You just right yourself, open your wings, and flap them. They'll generate enough lift to stop your descent."

Mintpaw climbed up into a tree near the edge of the island, wanting to watch.

The centurion spread his wings, then looked back at Pikepaw.

"Watch me."

He flew straight up into the air until he was just a dot in the sky. He hovered there for a second, then came straight down, head-first. Several feet from the ground, he flipped over upright, spread his wings, and rapidly beat them, instantly stopping his descent.

"You try it," Chiron said as he landed.

"Can...Can I do it jumping off? It's hard for me to lift off without jumping off."

"Yes. I trust you."

Suddenly, the sounds of clashing weapons made all three of them look up, and they saw two identical figures, one black, the other white, flying overhead, shooting and slashing at each other.

 _"Look who finally caught up!"_

 _"What is your problem?"_

As the two started to vanish into the distance, the darker one fired a charged shot at the other and it missed. The shot hit the tree Mintpaw was in, causing her to cry out in shock as she fell out of the tree, and down towards the distant ground.

"Mintpaw!"

Pikepaw quickly leapt off the island and dove after his sister, folding his wings flat against his back.

But Mintpaw was falling at almost the same speed as he was descending, and he was barely making any head way in catching up to her. In desperation, he opened his wings, and started flapping them, in an effort to get himself going down faster.

Chiron watched with growing concern as the young angels went further and further down. Millie came running out to see what was going on, and was shocked when she looked down and saw the two.

"What happened?"

"Mintpaw fell off, and Pikepaw went after her."

"He's not strong enough of a flier! Mintpaw will be too heavy for him! Chiron, you have to get down there and catch them before they fall all the way to the ground!"

Chiron just nodded once at her, and dove after the two angels.

"Pikepaw, hurry!" Mintpaw cried out, as she glanced over her shoulder, and noticed the clouds starting to thin out. Pikepaw flapped his wings, moving inches closer to her.

Again, he folded his wings, and dove, then opened them again and started using them to propel himself down, his hand outstretched. He gradually got closer and closer, and when his fingertips brushed against hers, he grabbed her, and pulled her to his chest. But when he tried to stop their descent, he was caught off-guard when he found her weight exceeded what his wings were capable of lifting. After several futile attempts, he hugged her tightly to him.

"It's no use...you're too heavy for me..."

Mintpaw hugged him back, and the two braced themselves for the death they were about to face...

When Pikepaw felt someone grab the back of his chiton, and he stopped going down. He looked up, and there was Chiron. Securing his hold on the two, the centurion flew them back up to the island where Millie was anxiously waiting.

"Pikepaw! Mintpaw! Are you two alright?"

Upon being set down, Mintpaw instantly ran up and threw herself into her mother's arms, sobbing in fear. Pikepaw ran up to her too, and hugged her back as she held them both close.

"It's okay, little ones...it's okay...you're safe..."

Mintpaw softly whimpered and nuzzled her head up under Millie's chin, tightly clinging to her tunic. Pikepaw let out a tiny yelp when Millie re-positioned her arm, moving his wings.

"Pikepaw, you're hurt!"

"I'm fine," he protested, but then Chiron came up and pulled the boy aside. The centurion had him spread his wings out, then began feeling along the bony edge of his wings. Pikepaw cried out and recoiled his wings when the centurion felt around the area where they attached to his back.

"He just pulled a muscle in his wings," Chiron remarked, averting his gaze to Millie. "It's a common injury in young angels who've yet to figure out what their wings are capable of, and what they aren't. It is not a serious injury, but he won't be able to fly for a few days."

Pikepaw looked back at the centurion, his eyes wide. Chiron just gazed down at him calmly; he knew what the apprentice was thinking.

"Your training will have to wait until your wing heals."

The centurion took off.

* * *

 _"Let him go. He's in for a big fall, and we need to get back to defeating Medusa."_

Pit closed his eyes as a shaft of light engulfed him, and seemed to lift him up into the air. Everything became fuzzy for a second, then he descended down out of the light as it opened up and he landed in the center of the main hall. The light then faded away.

After having a brief discussion with Palutena, he started heading for the springs to relax, when he heard faint whimpering coming from his room, and decided to make a little detour, to see first what the whimpering was about.

The door was already half-open. He quietly peeked his head in, and saw Millie sitting up against the footboard of his bed with Pikepaw between her legs. The boy's face was contorted in pain as she firmly rubbed his back with a wet cloth, around where his wings attached to his shoulder blades.

Pit was about to leave, when he made direct eye contact with Mintpaw. She was curled up in the corner, trembling, her cheeks wet with tears. She looked terrified.

 _I don't blame you,_ he whispered, nodding a bit at her. _Falling out of the sky is horrifying like that._

The angel left, and resumed heading for the springs.


	5. Ancient Treasures

"I'm surprised you're still not looking for them," a deep voice sounded from above. "You trapped them here for a reason, didn't you? Why not find them and bring them back to your domain to be judged?"

Medusa stopped, but didn't look back.

"What's the point?"

"They are alive, aren't they?"

"I don't know."

"Don't tell me you can't sense their life-force still burning. Because I can. It's weak, but unwavering. Somewhere in this realm, they're alive, albeit struggling to survive."

"Let them suffer. So long as they're down here, they're floating helpless. And they can't leave the Underworld, thanks to a spell I put on them that prevents exit through the portal. For them, the only way out is death. Unless somehow both you and I die, but there's no way that's happening, even though Pit defeated me once before. He had help. This time, it's just him and me."

"That is true. I shall take your word for it, but I'm not giving you any mercy if you fall in this fight. You get it?"

Medusa nodded slightly.

"Yes, my lord..."

* * *

Millie sat on the edge of the spring with her legs hanging down in the golden water. For a second, she thought about getting in, but the feeling of the water creeping up her legs kept her from doing so. Even though this was nothing like the river back in the forest, she still couldn't bring herself to go in past her knees.

Nearby, Pikepaw was bathing in the spring. He took a deep breath and went under for a moment, then came back up and vigorously shook his head, sending droplets of water flying. He arched his back up as he fluffed up his wings, shedding loose a bunch of old plumage. His injury had well healed now, so doing this didn't hurt at all.

"Hey, Millie..."

Both of them looked up to see Pit come in. His sides were heaving with exhaustion as he took his clothes off except for his shorts and got in the hot spring up to his chest.

"Rough mission?"

"More like surprise boss...since when was there such a thing as a space kraken?...I did not see that one coming at all...neither did Lady Palutena...whew, I'm beat..."

He closed his eyes for a minute and sighed, then opened them again.

"But I'm glad I went through that...because I've once again retrieved the Three Sacred Treasures."

"You did?"

"Yep...because the next thing is defeating Medusa...again. And quite honestly, I'm kind of nervous...because of what happened the last time we fought."

Millie's eyes went wide.

"What happened?"

Pit thought for a moment, shuddering as the memory of their previous battle started playing in his head.

"I came close to dying. My memory is starting to become a bit fuzzy, but I can vividly recall her holding me in the air by my back, and impaling me. I can sort of recall being flung to the ground, but after that, it's all sort of a blur. Pain is the only thing I can clearly remember. That there was a point in which every part of my body was screaming with pain, and it was almost unbearable to move at all."

"Oh."

"The only reason I wasn't killed was because Chiron was there to help by distracting Medusa, giving me the chance to return to my senses. He was injured as well, but not as badly as me. And that's why I'm kind of nervous about this fight...I won't have anyone to help me if that happens. Well, okay, there's Lady Palutena, but she can't really physically intervene like Chiron could before. I'm on my own, pretty much."

Millie nodded a bit in understanding.

"It's amazing how just one bad experience can really influence how we feel towards certain situations."

"Yeah..."

Pit trailed off as he started remembering when Keto had knocked him off the island, and he discovered he couldn't fly. The memory went away when Pikepaw came up to him.

"Daddy...why did you run off when I asked if you could watch us learn to fly?"

"Wh-why do you ask?"

That was a stupid reply, but it slipped out before Pit could think twice. Luckily, it didn't seem to have made Pikepaw tick at all.

"I'm just curious," the tom replied, innocently. He picked up one of Pit's feathers that was floating in the water.

Pit looked down for a minute.

"Maybe I haven't told you this story...but when I was about your age, a year or two older actually, I was play-fighting outside with my friend, Keto, when he knocked me off the island. He called down to me to use my wings and try to fly, but all I could do was just wildly flap my wings in any way I could, because I didn't know what to do. Chiron ended up having to dive down and rescue me. That's how I discovered I was flightless. And ever since then, falling and watching people fall from high places causes me to have flashbacks of when I fell and found out I couldn't fly.

That's why I don't like watching you two learn to fly. Because it reminds me of that incident. I was starting to have a flashback when you asked why it scared me before, and that's why I took off and didn't answer you."

Pit rested his hand on Pikepaw's head, and stroked him, smiling. Pikepaw put his own hand on his father's shoulder, and smiled back.

"I'll have to say though Pikepaw, there's not many kids out there who would have the guts to jump off like you did. Most would just watch, clueless on what to do. But you immediately leapt into action."

Pikepaw shrugged.

"I just...I can't imagine losing my sister. I already lost one."

Millie felt a sharp pang go off inside her at the mentioning of the kit she once had, but lost long ago.

"I know," Pit nodded. "It's hard to imagine, even more so to face, losing kin."

"And you know better than me about that," Pikepaw added, completing Pit's thought. "Right, daddy?"

"Yeah. That's right."

* * *

 _"So we finally meet again, Pit."_

Slightly shaken, he stepped back a bit.

 _"Sh-she's huge!"_

 _"Be careful!"_

 _"Listen well, all you demons of the Underworld! In the name of the goddess Palutena, the defender of all that is good...those who hide in the darkness will be made to face the light!"_

 _"Fly, Pit!"_

The angel took off mere seconds before Medusa would've crushed him with her fist.

Millie stood beside Palutena, watching in fascination as the two started engaging in battle. She knew how big of a deal this was for Pit, and felt the need to watch him fight.

It was amazing just how much damage the angel could deal, considering how small he was in comparison to Medusa. Part of that was due to the treasures he had equipped, but even so, it seemed almost unreal.

Pit flew off to the side to avoid being hit, then shot several arrows at the goddess. As Medusa went to swat him out of the air, he flashed the mirror shield up, and blocked her.

"Oh. Where did you find this strength?"

"I'm not about to tell you!"

He cut her hand open with his bow before flying over to the other side of the arena. He prepared to charge up the next shot, but quickly had to ditch that when Medusa knocked free a stalactite from the ceiling right above him, and shot several other projectiles at him. The arrow he had loaded went uncharged into her shoulder.

As the fight wore on, Medusa was shocked that Pit didn't seem to be at all intimidated by the fact he was fighting alone. It greatly concerned her, and as the angel dealt more damage to her, she heard her master's voice in her head.

 _"Are you trying to let him win?!"_

"No-"

 _"Then finish him! Now! He's just an angel!"  
_

"Yes, my lord..."

She let her mask of beauty fall, revealing her true appearance as a monster, and focused all her strength in taking down her opponent. Pit noticed this, and quickly shifted into a mode of defense, blocking and dodging her attacks more. Adversely, this drained his energy quicker, and he soon had to land somewhere to catch his breath, as fatigue started getting to him.

He barely got the chance to catch his breath, when Medusa shot a bunch of lasers at him, which he wildly dodged. On a whim, he flew right up and started cutting and slashing at her sides, creating huge gashes with black blood coming out like a river. She knocked the angel away, but as he hit a rock spire, he planted his feet on it, and pushed off, preparing to come down on her. This failed when Medusa flashed up her hand, a claw outstretched, right in his path. Her claw went through his stomach, and came out his back, just below his wings. The angel gasped in shock as he was impaled in mid-air.

"Is this the pain you felt before, Pit? Let me remind you. And this time you won't forget."

She hooked his back with other hand, and pulled her claw out of him, then began relentlessly tearing at him with her free hand. Thrusting her claw through his leg and into his face, she threw him to the ground.

For a second, Pit lay motionless, before he began trying to pick himself up, grunting and wincing at the sheer pain that seized his entire body as he slowly rose to his knees. Droplets of blood fell to the ground from the wound in his stomach as he picked up his bow, and gave it his weight. Underneath him, the ground was stained crimson with a pool of his own blood.

Medusa towered over the angel, watching coldly as he painfully struggled to get up.

"Tell me what you cherish most."

She prepared a ball of dark energy similar to the one that she'd tried using on him before, and gestured like she was going to throw it down on him.

"Give me the pleasure of taking it away..."

Pit looked up at her as she attacked, and in an instant, images of all the people he loved flashed through his mind; Dovepool, Pikepaw and Mintpaw, Adderstripe, Millie, Palutena, Chiron, and Keto.

Suddenly, he got the feeling of being in white void, with his back to another person. His tense nerves relaxed a bit as the person spoke, and he recognized their voice.

"So what if it looks hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up...Embrace your dreams, and whatever happens, protect your honor as a warrior. Well, okay, as a warrior in Skyworld. You never were a warrior in the place you came from. But it's what's in here that counts."

"Keto...?"

"Well, you need a hand with her?"

Pit shook his head a bit to clear it, then slowly got to his feet, getting into a battle-ready stance as the other looked back over his shoulder.

"You already beat her once, didn't you? This should be a cinch."

"Yeah..."

Keto returned his gaze forward.

"Pit...you know what I told you..."

"That's right...facing the past isn't easy, but it's worth doing..."

As the black-haired angel faded away, Pit returned to reality, and leaped up into the air, destroying the energy ball with a charged arrow. Medusa watched unfazed as he dodged her attacks, and flew over to another area of the arena, and loaded an arrow into his bow.

"I pity you. You just don't get it all."

He charged it up, aiming for Medusa's face.

"There's not a thing I don't cherish!"

The angel flew up to her, the arrow becoming larger and turning pure white in color before he shot it right into Medusa's chest. Again, he went into a sequence of firing various projectiles at the goddess, and ending with shooting several arrows skyward that came down as beams of pure light. But this time, he flew up above the goddess, and as the last one came down, he dove down with it, and struck Medusa right in the face with a hard swing of his bow. He landed neatly on his feet, catching his bow as it came down.

"...Stay where you belong..." he said softly, gazing up at the goddess. "In my memories..."

Medusa just stared down at him coldly.

"I will...never be a memory..."

And she disintegrated into a black cloud that was swept away with an apparent breeze, as the last echo of her voice faded out.


	6. Dreams

The full moon shone brightly in the night sky, its gentle glow bathing the islands below icy blue. Millie gazed up at that moon as she headed to Pit's room to sleep, and instinctively knew that back in the forest, a gathering was taking place.

Her mind began to wander, contemplating on whether or not her tribe was smart enough to know (or at least safely assume) that she'd gone to Skyworld, with Pit. There was no doubt they knew she had vanished, and they knew she was mates with the angel, but was that reason enough for them to know that with him was where she'd gone? She pushed aside that thought as she went into Pit's bedroom.

To her surprise, Pit was already there, asleep. He was lying on his side, facing the balcony, where the curtains had partially been drawn. Pikepaw and Mintpaw were curled up side-by-side on the floor, in a nest of soft cloth, and Pit's chiton and scarf.

Millie quietly shut the door, and took off her tunic and her necklace before slipping into bed next to the sleeping angel. She was about to lay down and drift off herself, when she realized the shaft of moonlight coming in between the curtains was shining directly onto Pit, and she found herself caught up in watching him sleep.

It surprised her just how youthful and sweet he looked, asleep. He was only wearing shorts, showing his thin figure, and his tanned skin almost looked white in the moonlight. His radiantly white wings appeared to glow with how they caught the light coming in, hiding the imperfections of natural wear and tear. Had it not have been for his muscular back, and his height, he could've been mistaken for being three years younger than he actually was.

After a moment, she lay down on her back, and closed her eyes as sleep came over her, just as Pit started fidgeting.

* * *

 _The air was filled with loud barking and the clanging of metal tools, partially drowned out by the terrorized screams and cries of people fleeing from the camp. He buried his face in his mother's chest, crying in fear, as she held him close to her._

 _Suddenly, the barking grew louder, and he looked up to see two huge dogs mere inches from his face. Terrified, he burrowed further into his mother's hold, dimly aware of the smell of blood that hit his nostrils._

 _It made him panic when he felt someone pulling him away from his mother, but he soon realized she was pulling him off of herself. She held him up to a dark gray-haired tom._

 _"Take him, Ripplefur!"_

 _The tom grabbed him and took off out of the camp, not looking back to see if anything or anyone was chasing him. Looking over the tom's shoulder, the boy saw his mother being mauled by the huge dogs, screaming and kicking. That was the last thing he saw before the camp vanished into the distance._

* * *

Pit woke up with a start, his heart racing. Sweat was dripping down his face, and his whole body was shaking, like he'd just come face-to-face with something he deeply feared. It took him several minutes to get a bearing on his surroundings, but even when he subconsciously knew he was in his room, everything seemed far off and surreal to him.

A part of him wanted to brush off his dream as nothing, for he'd had real vivid dreams like that in the past, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was more than just a dream.

 _I haven't had dreams like that in a while,_ he thought. _Years, actually. Why would I suddenly be having the now? Especially now, since we're at war with the Underworld?_

 _Ke-eet-to! Kee-to!_

Pit was startled when he suddenly heard a tern calling, and he looked around. Sure enough, the bird was there, perched on the balcony.

 _Kee-eet-to!_

He just stared at the bird for a long time. Something seemed off about it to him. But what was it? He felt like he knew, but couldn't quite form in his head what it was. As though in response to his pondering, the tern turned around, erected its body, straightened its legs, and spread its wings, pointing its head skyward.

Pit's eyes went wide as he looked at the tern in this position. Almost instantly, an image he didn't even know was in his memory blotted its way into his brain.

Keto standing on the edge of the temple, his wings spread, looking up at the moon, as though contemplating on life. Laying the memory over the view of the tern, he realized they were similar. The tern's crest mimicked Keto's black hair almost perfectly, and their wings were identical. Even Keto's fair skin seemed to match with the bird's white body feathers. The image fled from his mind when the bird took off, and he heard Millie's voice.

"What is it, Pit?"

He looked over his shoulder to see her lying in bed next to him.

"I...er...nothing. I just thought of something, that's all. Nothing important."

"Are you sure? You have this weird look in your eyes."

"Millie, I'm fine. It was nothing important, or of your concern."

Millie just looked at him for a long minute, then shrugged.

"Alright..."

She turned over onto her side, and went back to sleep.

Pit tried to drift off again too, but the vision and the thought of his dream kept him awake. And after a few minutes of tossing and turning, he finally gave up, and got out of bed, putting on his undershirt as he headed out onto the balcony. Gazing up at the full moon as it made its way across the sky, he suddenly got the feeling like there was someone behind him and a silver feather floated by in front of his face as a familiar voice whispered in his ears.

 _I will walk with you always..._


	7. A Fear of Water

Pit shook his head to clear it as he headed for the springs, a bit disoriented from the last mission. Closing the door behind him, he took his clothes off except for his shorts, and slipped into the golden warm water, up to his chest. A minute later, Millie came in with their kids.

"Daddy!"

Both of them jumped in and swam over to him, using their little wings like paddles to propel themselves through the water. Pikepaw half-jumped on him upon closing the distance, to which Pit grunted and gently pushed the apprentice off of him so he could hold them both close to him.

After a moment, he loosened his hold on them, and averted his gaze to Pikepaw.

"You need to stop jumping on me like that. I know you like doing it, but you're going to hurt me someday with how big you're getting."

Pikepaw nodded once, then leaned up against Pit's chest and nuzzled him.

Pit looked up at Millie, who stood on the edge of the spring, watching from a distance.

"Why don't you get in?"

"No thanks, I'm fine."

Pit tilted his head a bit.

"You never seem to want to get in. Why is that?"

"I don't know, I just don't like to, I guess."

"Okay..."

He let go of Pikepaw and Mintpaw, and the two got out to take their clothes off, before getting back in to play with their father. As Millie bent down and picked up their clothes to move them aside, she suddenly tripped over one of Mintpaw's sandals, stumbled, and fell sideways into the spring.

Almost instantly, her mind went completely blank, frozen in shock. She started remembering something that had occurred when she was younger, like it had happened recently, and it made her panic, kicking and flailing frantically in an effort at reaching the surface.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her from behind by her waist, and pull her up to the surface. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Pit. There was mixed look of surprise and shock on his face.

"Either I'm mistaken, or you don't know how to swim."

Millie just stared at him for a moment, her gaze distant and clouded, before she pulled away from him and scrambled out of the hot spring, her whole body shaking with fear.

"Millie, are you okay?"

She didn't even look up at him this time. Everything seemed like a dream to her. Unable to focus her mind on anything but her fear, she shook herself off, then bolted outside.

Pit stood there for a long while in utter confusion. It seemed to him that nothing scared her like the way falling did for him, so it was a real shock to see her freak out just from being in a hot spring. Even though she really fell in, that didn't explain much. Anyone would've been caught by surprise in that situation. But Millie's reaction was beyond surprise; it was fear. But why would just falling into a hot spring scare her witless like that?

"Daddy, is something wrong?"

"No, Mintpaw."

"I mean with Mom."

"I don't know. But I'm going to find out."

He got out of the spring, and quickly dried himself off, airing out his wings, before he put his clothes on except for his laurel crown, and went to the main hall. After quickly speaking with his goddess, he took off for the forest, thinking Millie's tribe might have answers.

Most of the tribe wasn't in camp, but those who were there were surprised to see him, particularly his former denmate.

"Pit! It's been forever since you were here! How are you?"

"I'm fine. But I need to speak with Cedarstar about something."

"Cedarstar's out helping Whitefeather,"Liontail spoke up. "You may have to wait a bit. Why?"

"This has to do with Millie, and I feel like he'd know more about it."

"Speaking of, where is Millie? Is she with you?"

"Yes. She asked if I could bring her to my place several months ago."

"Told you so!" Crowpaw taunted, having been listening to their conversation.

Liontail scowled, but said nothing.

"Anyway, what is it about Millie you want to ask? I might know the answer. I was her mentor."

Pit's eyes widened a bit.

"You were?"

"Yes, I was. I was Adderstripe's too."

Adderstripe smiled and nodded.

Pit paused and thought, looking down at the ground. He wanted to keep this as easy to understand for them as he could, for they obviously had no idea what hot springs were. After a minute, he returned his gaze to them.

"Millie seems to have a problem with getting in deep water. Why is that?"

The whole tribe went silent for a long moment. They knew what he was talking about. Finally, Adderstripe broke the silence.

"You probably don't know this, but when Millie was six years old, newly made an apprentice, she almost drowned in the river. She was just wading, playing in the water, when the current suddenly swelled, pulling her feet out from under her, and taking her with it. Liontail had to jump in and save her."

Liontail nodded.

"A year later, during leaf-bare, when the river had frozen over, she was going after a squirrel when she fell through the ice, and again, I had to come to her aid. She was terrified of deep water after that, and for a while, refused to even go near the river. She'll drink out of it now, but she'll refuse to get in it for any reason, or even be in a position in which she could fall in. Just going over the stepping stones makes her nervous."

 _That explains her reluctance to get in the hot springs,_ he thought, contemplating briefly what he'd learned.

"Thanks Liontail, Adderstripe."

"No problem."

The two headed back into the camp.

As Pit flew back to Skyworld, he realized just how understandable her fear was. Just as falling scared him, deep water terrified her. And for the same reasons; they both had a bad experience with them, and have since become fearful of them. He suddenly recalled a conversation he had with Millie a while back, when he'd expressed anxiety about his second fight with Medusa.

 _It's amazing how just one bad experience can really influence how we feel towards certain situations._

"It sure is," he thought aloud, as he landed in Palutena's Temple, and went in search of his mate.


	8. Reflection

_"Then charge, soldiers!"_

Those words still rang clearly in his head as he took off for the outskirts of Skyworld upon returning from the battle.

"I haven't heard words like that in years," he said to himself. "It sure takes me back."

Chiron went into a slow glide as he reached the outskirts, his deep brown eyes surveying the islands below.

The outskirts of Skyworld was a section of deserted islands whose structures were overtaken by nature. Except for a few birds who found shelter in the leafy greens blanketing the ruins, no one lived there. But from time to time, Chiron would visit the outskirts for short periods.

Subconsciously, he flew to an island that consisted mostly of rocky cliff. At the base was the entrance of a cave, partially hidden by ruins, and across from it was a pond partially shaded by a laurel tree. What looked like the remains of an altar stood atop the cliff, shaded by two juniper trees, and overgrown ivy covered its base.

For a long moment, he just hovered in the air, gazing at that island. Two very different memories came to him, and filled the back of his mind; One of numerous angels fearfully hiding there, on that island, as Underworld monsters swarmed around and destroyed their homes. The other of a warrior naming his newborn child, standing on top of the altar, holding the infant up in the air. These memories left his mind as he landed on the shore of the pond and entered the cave.

Amazingly, the cave had stood the test of time, and was yet to collapse. Moss and ivy partially covered one side of the cave, and ferns had started growing in a corner near the entrance. From floor to ceiling the walls were covered with paintings, many of which were of angels, plants, and wild animals. Stacks of old herbs lined the wall containing the entrance, the leaves and stems all brown and withered after sitting there for so long, unused. Their scent still lingered though, faint but distinct.

Chiron swept his gaze across the paintings. Many of them depicted hunting, fighting, and spiritual customs and rituals. One of them depicted the same memory he'd recalled moments ago, and he smiled a bit at that.

Beside that painting was one of the same family, but the father was playing with his kid while the mother watched from a short distance away. The boy was climbing on his father, who was lying on the ground, playfully rolling over onto his back, much like what Pit would do when Pikepaw and Mintpaw were kits.

It tugged at his heart to think how peaceful his world used to be, even after Medusa was banished. He only remembered eight years of it, but it had taken more than a century for the tension between the two deities to finally boil over, and in that time, in the years he could recall, he'd found joy and harmony in watching the angels grow and thrive as inhabitants of the realm, not servants. It kind of hurt to think there used to be hundreds of them, but now there was only Pit and his two kids.

 _It's almost like it was their fate to face extinction,_ he thought as he eyed a painting of a boy and his mother trapped in their own home by Underworld monsters.

For a split second, he considered the possibility that it was their fate, but he quickly forced the thought out of his mind. For that to be true would mean losing Pit, in addition to his kids, and ever since Palutena found him and brought him to Skyworld, he'd been a source of light and joy, bringing an air of new life and harmony to the realm. It deeply hurt him inside to imagine a time when the angel wasn't around anymore.

As the centurion went outside and took off for the other side of the outskirts, he could've sworn he heard a loud cry from somewhere in the distance before it was lost in the mingled calls of a dove and a falcon.


	9. Chaos

Pikepaw and Mintpaw were startled awake by a loud _thud,_ and a series of yelling. Glancing around the room, they saw nothing unusual, other than perhaps the curtains were closed in front of the balcony. But just when they were about to go back to sleep, it came again, louder this time, along with the sounds of something exploding. As the noises continued, Pikepaw got up and peeked through the curtain.

What he saw made his heart stop.

Against the dark gray sky, numerous centurions were flying around in some sort of patrol-like manner, except for a few nearby that were fighting Underworld monsters. The islands below them were littered with small fires and debris, their structures dull and battle-worn, but the centurions paid no heed to it, continuing in methodical circles around the sky, like hawks.

"What is it, Pikepaw?"

Mintpaw came up behind him. She peeked through the curtains too, equally shocked by the site.

"Why aren't they going and cleaning things up?"

"I don't know. What I want to know is why they're flying around in the same pattern like that. They never do that!"

"What should we do?"

Pikepaw was about to answer her, when he heard banging on the door, and instantly dove under Pit's bed, dragging Mintpaw behind him, just as three centurion strongarms burst into the room, and started searching around every corner, rummaging through Pit's belongings. They were there for several minutes, going through everything in the room, until one of them gestured to the other two, and they started to leave. One of them stopped in the doorway for a second, scanned the room with his eyes, then left with the other two, shutting the door behind him.

The two apprentices stayed under the bed for a long time, genuinely frightened.

"Something's not right," Mintpaw said quietly. "First, they're not picking up the place, and now they're looking through people's things. We have to do something, Pikepaw."

Pikepaw just nodded slightly, his mind intensely focused on something. Something he'd noticed about what had just happened.

"What we need to do is find mom," he murmured, half to himself.

Mintpaw looked at him weirdly.

"What do you mean? Are you saying she's not here?"

"Why would she let those centurions come in and go through daddy's things? She wouldn't. And certainly daddy wouldn't either. It's obvious they're not here, in this room. But it's not even close to morning. They should be here at this time."

Mintpaw's eyes went wide.

"You're right."

"Mintpaw, we have to find them, and find out what happened."

"Then let's go!"

The two crawled out from under the bed, and took off out of the room.

* * *

 _"Let me go!"_

Millie wildly fought with the chains fixed to her neck and wrists, twisting around and pulling them taut, trying to get free. The centurion strongarms glanced back at her as she struggled against her bounds, but did nothing to stop her as they led her to the main hall of Palutena's Temple, where the goddess was seemingly waiting.

Fear crawled up her spine at the sight of the goddess. She let out a cat-like scream as she strained to get away, thinking it would make the centurions let go of the chains, but all it did was make them drag her in closer to them. Another strongarm came up behind her and roughly grabbed the back of the iron collar fixed to her neck, causing her to choke on it when she tried to pull away from him. As they approached the goddess, the strongarm holding her collar suddenly shoved her forward, causing her to fall onto her knees in front of Palutena.

The young goddess just gazed at her coldly.

"You're here because of your kids, aren't you?"

Millie slowly looked up at her, the hair on her neck prickling with fear when she met Palutena's icy gaze.

"What in the world is going on?!"

"Everything changes, Millie. Life goes on. You should know that better than me."

"Not like this! You were as caring to me as you were to Pit! What made you suddenly decide to change your mind, and chain me up like this?!"

"To be frank, I'm tired of fighting for those ungrateful humans. And I'm especially tired of dealing with Pit. I don't know how you got involved, but you don't belong here, and neither do your kids. Once I find them too, I'm sending you back to where you should be."

She averted her gaze to the centurions.

"Take her to the prison hold, and lock her up there. We'll determine what to do with her later."

"Yes, my lady."

Millie didn't hesitate to get to her feet and follow the strongarms outside, frightened by the goddess' apparent change of heart, but once they were out of the main hall, she resumed trying to pull away from them. She quit struggling and hung her head in defeat as they went down a set of stairs, unable to find the energy to keep fighting.

It was a while before they finally stopped, and the clicking of a lock made her look up. Straining against the pressing darkness, she could see one of the strongarms opening the barred door of a prison cell. Another centurion came up behind her, grabbed her by her shoulders, and shoved her in, with such force that her legs buckled, and she collapsed onto her side.

She instantly got up and made a run for it when her wrists were freed, but she didn't get very far when something pulled one of her legs out from under her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that chains had been fixed to her ankles, and the other ends were secured to an iron ring on the wall in the back of her cell. The chain on her neck had been secured to it as well.

"Before we go about using brute force..." One of the centurions came up and grabbed the front of her tunic, pulling her up to his face. "Where are your kids? They weren't in Pit's room."

Millie stared at him for a moment.

"I don't know."

"That's a lie!"

"Really, I don't know! The last time I saw them was in Pit's room, and if they're not there, then I'm not of any help to you!"

The centurion just gazed intensely at her for a long time. She couldn't tell from his face if he believed her or not, but he seemed satisfied with her answer, for he released his grip on her, and left the cell as one of the others locked the door shut. They quietly exchanged a few words, then headed outside, not once looking back even as the loud clanging of chains began to echo through the prison.


	10. Taking Flight

The two apprentices quickly hid behind a pillar as a pair of centurion knights flew by, followed by a regular centurion. As it grew silent, Pikepaw glanced around the room to make sure no one else was coming before they took off for the next available hiding place.

They started going down a long hallway when they heard Palutena's voice, and dove behind the white gargoyle guarding the entrance, just as the goddess came down the hall, with three centurion strongarms.

"We need to come up with a new plan. I'm losing my patience with how long it is taking you to find those kids."

"We have no need to look for them, my Lady. They've already fallen for our trap."

"What trap?"

"Their mother is in our custody, and they don't know where she is. No doubt they will be looking for her; they're kids. It's perfect bait. They will find her down there, in that prison, and inevitably expose themselves. They will be in the perfect place for us to capture them too. The only way out is the way in, and by the time they realize they had been spotted, it will be too late."

"Hm. Not a bad idea. Very well, I'll trust you know what you're doing, and relieve you three of your patrol duties."

The three centurions bowed, and took off back down the hall. Palutena headed the other way.

Pikepaw and Mintpaw looked at each other in shock.

"We can't let them catch us!"

"How? They know we're looking for mom. There's no way we could do that!"

"I don't know. But I'm scared of what they might do to us if they found us. What if they decide to kill us?"

Pikepaw didn't have an answer for that question, because right then, a centurion shot several arrows at them, drawn by the faint rustling of their wings on the rough stone wall. Without thinking, Pikepaw tightly gripped his sister's arm.

 _"Run!"_

* * *

Millie's ears twitched at the soft rasping of a key in a lock. She slowly opened one eye, and saw her captors set a small tray of food down in the middle of the floor. Reluctantly, she sat up and stretched each of her limbs, then got into a crouch, and started eating, not once looking up from the tray. The food in it was bland and tasteless, but she didn't care.

Licking the last traces out of the bottom of the tray, she briefly groomed her face, then retreated to the back of her cell, where she proceeded to resume sleeping. The centurions quietly picked up the empty tray and locked the door before leaving, their footsteps growing fainter and fainter until the only sound in the otherwise dark, static prison was the rhythmic whisper of Millie's breathing, as she drifted into a deep sleep.  
That was pretty much all she did now, was eat and sleep. At times, her motherly instincts would kick in, and she'd stay awake, worrying about her little ones, but only a short period, after which she'd doze off again. She knew in the back of her mind there was nothing she could do about them, except what was necessary for her to stay alive, in hopes that they would eventually find her there. They were asleep last time she saw them, and were undoubtedly looking for her, out of sheer confusion.

But even as she sprawled out on her side, her ears seemingly pricked, she didn't stir when the silence was broken by chaotic sounds coming from outside...

* * *

Pikepaw briefly glanced back at his sister to make sure she was still following right behind him before he dove around the corner and down another corridor, just as a band of centurions came down the hall in pursuit of the two. Mintpaw yelped in fear as an arrow flew just mere inches from her face, but she didn't look back and focused on keeping up with Pikepaw.

Heading down another hall to a large room, Pikepaw was alarmed when he heard a loud cry of pain, and he skidded to a halt, glancing over his shoulder to see Mintpaw stumble and fall to the ground. She was quick to get back up and resume running, but as the two took off, she began to fall behind, and Pikepaw kept having to stop so she could catch up with him.  
At the first chance he had, he shoved her behind a marble statue so he could examine her, and found it was a deep cut in her ankle. Not deep enough to make her walk with a limp, but enough that she couldn't run for as long of a duration before it would start hurting, and she'd have to slow down to a walk in order to ease the pain.

It barely registered when a centurion strongarm smashed apart the statue, revealing the two. Both apprentices immediately bolted, but Pikepaw quickly noticed Mintpaw wasn't following him, and he quickly stopped and looked back, his eyes widening in shock when he saw Mintpaw running back the way they came.

"Mintpaw, what are you doing?! Don't run away!"

She glanced back at him but kept going, as a centurion shot a bunch of arrows at her. Pikepaw watched her disappear down the hall before he took off as well, spreading his wings and flying out of the room, taking cover in a thick shrub as he flew outside. The centurions pursuing him stopped dead upon coming out into the open air, glancing around in utter confusion. They soon retreated back inside, not thinking to even look for him.

The apprentice felt a wave of relief come over him as the centurions gave up, and was about to come out of hiding, when he saw a centurion circling in the air above, like a hawk watching over its territory. The area it was surveying consisted of what used to be a dorm for Palutena's angel followers, an old training ground, and an altar where Pikepaw remembered his apprenticeship ceremony taking place, with Pit standing on top of the altar.  
At first, the tom was rather baffled by the area the centurion was guarding; like the outskirts, it was completely deserted and not used for anything. The only reason the old dorm had been preserved, as he was told, was so it could serve as a memorial of the battle that left Pit as the last one of his species, and something to honor the angels that once resided in it. It didn't make sense for the area to be secured.

But after a few minutes of gazing at the landscape, he realized there was something different about it; between the alter and the old dorm, at the foot of the hill the dorm sat on, was an abrupt dip in the ground. Like there was a hole there. He didn't remember that being there before. Maybe the centurion was keeping watch over that hole?

 _That must be where they have mom locked up,_ he reasoned, _if it's being guarded..._ That's _what they meant when they said we'd fallen for their trap...they have someone guarding the prison, so if we go in there, the one keeping watch can alert Palutena, so she can send troops in after us._

For a minute, he pondered how he was going to get in there without being seen. There was virtually no cover from where he was to the hole, nothing he could hide behind or sneak around in. There was a tree he could hide in, but its placement would guarantee he'd be seen trying to get over to it. The altar was in the middle of the clearing, so trying use that as cover was out of the question. As he picked at some dry skin on his leg, in thought, he suddenly noticed a bunch of stones on the ground under his feet. On a whim, he threw one of the rocks into a bush on the other side of the training ground, and to his surprise, the centurion went to investigate. There wasn't enough time for Pikepaw to fly over to the tree, but the fact the centurion took the bait was enough for him to come up with a plan.

Gathering up a handful of stones, he waited for a breeze to come before tossing two stones in the direction of the dorm. They flew into the overgrown garden. The minute the centurion went to see what it was, he took off into the tree, and threw another stone into the shrub he'd been hiding in, as well as one in the open ground. At first the centurion didn't take the bait, but when the tom did it again, he went to see what it was. As he approached the hole, Pikepaw tossed the rest of the stones into the tree before retreating into the yawning darkness in front of him.

* * *

Mintpaw ignored the pain in her ankle as she ran down the hall. She could no longer see the centurions behind her, but she knew they were still after her, and kept going.

As she ran outside, out the main entrance, she suddenly ran into Palutena. The goddess gazed coldly at her, and tried to hit her with her staff, but the apprentice quickly ducked between her legs, and bolted. She skidded to a halt upon reaching the edge of the island. Out of fear, she spread her wings, and vigorously flapped them in an attempt to fly.

She'd just gotten off the ground when she saw Palutena come charging up behind her and ram into her with her shield, causing Mintpaw to cry out in shock as she was knocked out of the air, and began to fall. The goddess watched her for a minute in satisfaction, before she retreated back into her temple.

Immediately, the apprentice began remembering the day Pikepaw futilely tried to save her after she was knocked out of the tree in the garden. On impulse she shut her eyes, and tried to right herself and spread her wings to stop herself, just as Chiron had told Pikepaw to do when he dove.

It took her a moment to realize she was no longer falling, and she fearfully opened one eye, and instantly, both of them flew open when she saw she was hovering in the air. The edge of the island could be seen out of the corner of her vision. Glancing over shoulder, her little wings were fluttering happily, creating a faint hum due to how fast they were flapping.

Mintpaw smiled in excitement upon realizing she was flying, and started joyfully looping around, letting out a small yelp when she failed to completely go in a circle. As she came back up, she took a moment to regain her balance, then arched up her back and thrust herself forward, unsteadily flying off in the direction her brother had gone.

* * *

It took several minutes for Pikepaw's eyes to adjust to the change in light level as he entered the hole. Even though it was dim outside too, it was enough of a difference to make it hard for him to see as went down inside.

A mix of shock and horror filled him when his surroundings came into view. Numerous prison cells lined both walls on either side of the entrance, separated by stone walls. And that was it. There was nothing else in there except the prison cells, which were as bare as the room. The only thing in them was a large iron ring bolted to the wall opposite of the door, where prisoners could be restrained if necessary.

A low cat-like rumble made him jump, and he glanced around wildly, expecting to find some creature coming at him, but there was nothing. Except the faintest whisper of someone breathing, and it wasn't his own. It was slightly accompanied by purr-like sounds that occasionally rose up into that gentle rumble. Being careful not to make too much noise, he followed his ears to pinpoint the source of the sound, and ended up in front of one of the cells in the very back of the room. Inside it was Millie, sprawled out on her side. With the way her face was completely relaxed and the position she was lying in, she appeared to be unconscious, or even dead.

Pikepaw leaned against the bars of her cell.

"Mom...?"

He grew a bit concerned when she didn't stir, although her ear twitched a bit, indicating she'd heard him.

"Mom...?" he called again, louder this time.

Again, she didn't respond, but after a few moments, she softly moaned, and opened her mouth wide in a yawn as she wearily sat up, rubbing her eyes open partway.

She instantly perked up when she saw Pikepaw, and started walking over to him, but the chains fixed to her ankles wouldn't let her get close enough to the bars to lean on the them. On a whim, the tom tried to force his way between the bars, and it startled him when he suddenly tumbled over into the cell. Getting to his feet, he ran up and leaped into her arms, leaning against her shoulder as he hugged her. Millie gently wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back, small sobs escaping from her throat as she set free the anxiety and dread that had built up inside her about whether or not her kids were okay.

After a minute or two, she loosened her hold on the tom so she could examine him. For how long she'd been separated from them, he looked surprisingly well, save for the minor cuts and scrapes on his arms and legs. Securing her hold on him a bit, she glanced around the prison for a second, then returned her gaze to Pikepaw.

"where's your sister?"

Pikepaw blinked and shrugged.

"I don't know. We got separated while we were being chased."

"I'm up here."

Both Millie and Pikepaw looked up, and were surprised to see Mintpaw hovering in front of the cell, her tiny wings beating rapidly to support her weight.

Millie got up and walked up to the door of her cell, reaching through the bars with one arm and propping her hand on Mintpaw's shoulder.

"I'm very proud of you, Mintpaw."

The apprentice grinned.

"I can't wait to see daddy's reaction when he sees that both of us can fly."

"Where is daddy?" Pikepaw tugged on Millie's skirt. "When will he be back? Do you know?"

Millie looked down at the tom, and was about to answer him when there was a bright flash of light and Mintpaw wildly pushed her way into the cell as a bunch of arrows whizzed past the front of the cell. Moments later, numerous centurions stormed into the prison.

"I knew they would come here. Now we can finally deal with you three."

Pikepaw and Mintpaw cowered behind Millie as the centurions came into the cell. Millie backed up until she was almost up against the wall, one arm shielding her little ones, the other in a position in which she could lash out if need be.

"You're going to have to get through me first."

"So be it."

One of the centurion strongarms came up and abruptly threw a hard punch straight at her face. She instinctively ducked, mere seconds before it would've landed, and the centurion smashed apart the iron ring that her bounds were fixed to.

Upon realizing she was free, Millie made a run for it, but the three strongarms who had captured her blocked the doorway. She rammed into one of them and pounced out of reach as the other two dove to get her. Pikepaw and Mintpaw took off after her, taking flight to avoid being crushed by a centurion knight.

Millie fled into the temple, and desperately tried to find a place to hide. The chains didn't help at all, because they made a lot of noise as she dragged them around, and sometimes she'd trip over them. Pikepaw and Mintpaw were struggling to keep up with her too, and after several minutes, as they entered what looked to have been an armory room, Mintpaw stopped to catch her breath, collapsing onto her knees the moment her feet touched the ground.

Millie glanced around wildly as she picked up the apprentice, suddenly unsure of what to do. Mintpaw was too heavy for her to carry while trying to run at the same time. It wouldn't be long before the centurions caught up to them, and she wasn't about to let them hurt her kids, nor did she want them to face losing her. Struggling to come up with any sort of plan, it took her a moment before she realized that there was a hole in the wall behind the armor set in front of her. It looked a bit too small for her, but she could think of nothing else.

Clearing away the rubble in front of the hole, she pushed Pikepaw and Mintpaw inside before she crouched down to enter it. The hole turned out to be bigger than she thought, and managed to fit through without too much trouble. She quickly grabbed a bunch of stones and pieces of armor from outside and covered up the hole, just as the thundering of footsteps echoed through the room.

"Where'd they go?"

"I'll bet they're hiding in here somewhere."

Millie felt her heart start pounding in her ears as the sound of objects being moved got closer and closer. Mintpaw shrieked when a stone concealing the hole was moved, but Millie hastily covered her mouth so the centurion wouldn't hear her. But just when the centurion would've moved enough stuff to uncover the hole, a loud cry rang out from somewhere in the distance, and the centurions took off to see what it was. As it grew quiet, Millie let go of Mintpaw as she breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Mom..."

Pikepaw came up to her.

"Why are they after us?"

"And where's daddy?" Mintpaw piped up. "Is he coming back?"

Millie gazed at the two for a minute.

"I don't know...I really don't know..."


	11. Gone Into Hiding

"You lost them?!"

Palutena glared at the three strongarms as they returned, their heads down.

"We accidentally set her free, and she took off with her kids," one of them replied, kneeling in front of her. "We pursued them, but they managed to slip away from us heading into the old barracks. They could be anywhere at this point in time."

The goddess turned her back to them.

"Forget it. No use searching for them if there is no indicator where they could be. But they can't hide from us forever. Sooner or later, they will have to expose themselves in order to get food and water. So keep your guard up. And if you see any one of them, you have my permission to kill them, right then and there."

The centurion nodded once.

"Yes, my lady."

* * *

Pikepaw softly moaned and squirmed a bit as his stomach growled. He accidentally kicked Mintpaw in the ribs, and she grunted and rolled over onto her side, curling up with her head tucked in her arms.

Millie glanced down as her own belly groaned with hunger, then got up and began grooming the two, to comfort them. Pikepaw raised his head and wearily opened his eyes at the feeling of his mother licking him, his lips parted as though he was expecting her to feed him. He whimpered and let his head droop when Millie just nuzzled him, as a hint that she didn't have anything to give him.

As the apprentice resumed sleeping, she glanced back at them for a moment before cautiously heading outside, anxiety gripping her heart the minute she came out of hiding. Taking a deep breath to keep some of her fear at bay, she began making her way through the temple, doing what she could to avoid being seen. Nearing the open corridor that led to the main hall, she slipped down a narrow hallway partially hidden by a large marble statue, and out into a small clearing littered with debris. Her ears twitched at the twittering of a chaffinch, but she ignored it, and started searching through the piles of garbage. She'd learned from being attacked multiple times after attempting to hunt the few birds she'd come across that it wasn't worth the risk, and she was better off feasting on what others threw away.

After several minutes of rummaging around, she gathered up the scraps she'd found, and returned to her little ones. Both Pikepaw and Mintpaw willingly got up when they saw that Millie had brought back food for them, and began eating. They didn't seem to care anymore one way or the other that what they were being fed was garbage.

Millie just watched from a distance as they devoured every bit of the stuff she'd brought back, not once even attempting to make them stop so she could eat. She knew they needed it more than her, for she could easily go back to that clearing and just eat her meals there. But her little ones relied on her to feed them, and it would be cruel to deprive them of part of their meals when she had easier access to food than they did.

When the two had finished picking through the discarded scraps, she gathered the remains and pushed them aside, covering them with dirt and dust to mask their scent. She briefly groomed herself, then went over to her little ones, and lay down on her side next to them. Pikepaw curled up against her chest, nuzzling up under her chin. Millie softly nudged his head away a bit, and gently licked his face. His skin was dry and frighteningly pale, to the point that, combined with how emaciated he'd become, he looked half-dead. Mintpaw was just as bad, and some of her hair had begun to fall out.

Pikepaw whined and buried his face in Millie's chest as a cue that he didn't want her to lick him, and she immediately stopped. He relaxed and rubbed off her saliva on the front of her tunic, then let his head plop down on top of his arms as he fell asleep, his breaths long and deep. Millie watched silently as Mintpaw began to doze off too, fidgeting a bit to get comfortable. As the apprentice finally settled, Millie closed her eyes and was about to go to sleep too when Mintpaw let out a tiny cry.

 _"D-Daddy...where are you...?"_

* * *

Emotional agony tugged at his heart as he left the outskirts. In his head, he wanted to just let his emotions spill forth, but when several other strongarms joined him, he was forced to hold back that impulse and maintain as straight of a face as he could manage, so they wouldn't suspect anything.

As internally painful as working undercover was for the centurion, it was the only way he could gain access into Palutena's Temple. She'd immediately driven him out when all of this had started, and when she prevented him from entering using the force field surrounding her temple, he spent some time hiding in the cave on the outskirts before he started pretending to patrol the outskirts with the other centurions. Palutena didn't know what to make of it, but she allowed him access into her temple, under the condition that she knew of his whereabouts if he wasn't in her sight. He immediately accepted it, although it made him nervous when she opted to use his unique soul as a way to track him.

That was more than a year ago. Closer to two years, to be exact.

Things hadn't changed much since then. Every day, he'd get up at dawn and meet with Palutena to be assigned to his duties, then head out to wherever he'd been ordered to go, and work all day, carrying out the tasks he'd been given, and returning to Palutena's temple in the evening. He hated it when Palutena sent him down to the Overworld to lay siege on the humans, for couldn't bring himself to harm them, but he still went down there with the others anyway, for he'd once been beaten within an inch of his life for refusing to go.

As soon as he landed in the entrance hall of Palutena's temple, he broke off from the others and retreated to the old dorm. Climbing up onto one of the bunks, he took his helmet off and wiped away the beads of sweat trickling down his face. He laid back against the wall and closed his eyes as a soft breeze passed by, vaguely listening to calls of birds that came riding on the wind.

As the centurion went into a state of deep thought and contemplation, he didn't notice when the air grew colder and a voice joined the birds' calls on the breeze.

 _"Within two bodies is the same soul...light and dark must accept this bond and keep the other alive, if they are to bring order to chaos..."_


	12. Seeking Refuge

Millie sighed as she headed out to find food again, trying to ignore the pitiful crying of her little ones. She'd fed them not too long ago, but they complained so much about being hungry that she couldn't stand it, and was willing to go get more for them to eat, to quiet them.

Searching around the clearing, she started to collect the remains of what used to be cooked chicken, when she noticed two pigeons picking at some old suet, plump and fat with meat. Her stomach growled loudly at the sight of the two birds, and she immediately ditched the chicken and dropped into a low crouch, creeping up behind the pair. They didn't even seem to have the slightest clue that they were being stalked, for they kept on idly picking at the suet, even as Millie got closer and closer. Taking advantage of this, she gathered up her legs and pounced.

But just when she was in the midst of pushing off, it felt like all the strength was rapidly drained out of her legs, and she ended up awkwardly leaping to one side, just barely grabbing one of the pigeons by the rump, and missing the other entirely. The one she'd caught she immediately cut its throat with her nails, then went to catch the other one, but by then it had flown away.

She put the dead pigeon in a cloth to hide it, then resumed scavenging around for scraps to take back for her kids to eat. What was too insignificant to give them she ate.

After several minutes, Millie gathered up the scraps plus the pigeon, and started heading back, when she caught a glimpse of Palutena in the corridor, and quickly jumped back behind the statue, her heart pounding her ears. She pressed herself flat against the statue, and shut her eyes, preparing to hear the alarm that she'd been spotted, but for a long moment, all she could hear was the goddess quietly talking with two of her troops.

"And you have not seen them at all?"

"Well...several times, we caught the girl hunting, and we tried to shoot her down, but she got away from us every time. Nothing after that."

Millie swallowed nervously, knowing they were talking about her.

"There has to be some indicator they're alive. They would have to leave something behind someplace."

"And they have. The abandoned practice arena; it's always unusually picked up when we go to dispose of our waste there. In less than a day's time. No large flock of birds could clear it out that fast. It is obvious they are getting their food from there, taking the remains of our food, and eating it themselves."

"That would make sense. They must be really desperate at this point if that's how they have managed to scrape by for this long."

Millie carefully peeked around the statue to make sure they weren't looking her way, and took off the moment she saw them start heading the opposite way she'd come. But just when she would've been out of sight, she suddenly came down on her foot the wrong way, and fell over onto her side. She fearfully glanced over her shoulder as she rose to her feet, internally wincing when she saw all three of them glaring at her, Palutena pointing her staff at Millie.

"Eliminate her."

The two centurions charged at her, and she immediately picked up her heels and took off as fast as she could run, not once looking back to see if they were close behind her, even when she couldn't hear them. All that mattered to her in that moment was returning to her little ones as quickly as possible.

She'd barely started down the hall leading to the armory room, when she felt something pierce the back of her leg, causing her to cry out and fall forward as intense pain shot up her leg. She briefly glanced down to see what it was, and was shocked to see the shaft of an arrow protruding from her calf. But she ignored it and continued to run as best as she could.

A wave of relief came over her when the sound of her kids whimpering and crying from hunger became audible. But she'd barely gotten to the mouth of the hole when something burrowed deep into her shoulder, and blood started streaming down her arm. She fearfully looked back, and saw the two centurions approaching her, along with the three strongarms who had captured her before.

"So you've been hiding in here all this time? No wonder it was so hard to find you."

Pikepaw and Mintpaw wearily poked their heads out to see what was going on, frightened when they saw the centurions towering over their mother. Millie flashed a stern look at them, and shook her head.

"Get back inside! It's too dangerous for you two to be out here."

"But mom-"

"Don't worry about me! Just do what I say!"

The two apprentices fearfully obeyed, and Millie returned her gaze to the centurions.

"If you want them, you're going to have to get through me first."

One of the centurions chuckled.

"Good luck with that. You know you can't win against all of us. Even your kids doubt you."

 _I know,_ she muttered, keeping her gaze fixed on them. She slowly crouched down as they closed in on her, a low growl rising up in her throat.

"But I'm not going to just hand them over to you!"

Without warning, she reared up and clawed at the centurion closest to her, sending him reeling backwards. She dove off to the side to avoid being hit by one of the strongarms, then twisted around and pounced on another one coming to pin her down.

As Millie fought with the three strongarms, one of the regular centurions snuck into the hole, and fixed his gaze on Pikepaw and Mintpaw, who retreated into the back corner, their eyes wide with fear. The centurion smirked at the two as he approached, then grabbed both of them, and took off. On a whim, Pikepaw curled his lip and bit the centurion's arm, drawing blood. The centurion howled in pain and dropped both Pikepaw and Mintpaw, before taking off as fast as he could down the hall.

Suddenly, just when the two apprentices were starting to head back to their hiding place, they heard a loud grunt of pain, and moments later, one of the strongarms picked up Millie in one hand and threw her across the room. She tumbled over several times before coming to a rest on her side. Unsteadily rising to her feet, she glanced over at her little ones, and pointed to the hole.

"Get inside! Now!"

Pikepaw looked like he was about to object, but when one of the strongarms looked at him too, he obeyed, along with Mintpaw.

Millie watched the two disappear, then returned her attention to her attackers, just in time to dodge a blow aimed at her chest. She reared up to claw at the centurion's face as he came charging up, when an arrow burrowed into her underbelly, causing her to fall to her knees as she was seized by agonizing pain. She cried out as she was slammed into from behind, and another one of the strongarms grabbed her by her jaw and lifted her off the ground. The centurion punched her in the gut before tossing her aside.

For a long moment, she just lay motionless where she was, her mind blank with shock. She weakly moaned as she started to tuck her limbs up next her body like a dying insect, wincing when she was forcefully turned over onto her back and pinned down by her chest. Her heart started pounding when she wearily opened her eyes partway, and saw the regular centurion standing on top of her, preparing to pierce her throat with an arrow.

"I'm sorry I have to do this..." he said coldly, pulling back the bowstring. Millie tightly shut her eyes and relaxed, waiting for him to deal that fatal shot.

But just when she heard him release the arrow, she felt the soft breeze of something rushing close by, and the arrow just merely grazed the side of her chin, at the same time, painful howls and groans filled the room. She dared to open her eyes a bit, and immediately they flew open in disbelief when she saw Chiron standing over the centurion, yanking the bow from his grasp, and throwing it away. Two of the strongarms charged up to him, but Chiron heard them coming, and tackled both of them to the ground. As he beat up the two, the other one fled, along with the regular centurion. Chiron let the two he'd jumped on get the chance to run after a moment, then rushed over to Millie, and knelt down beside her, propping her head up on his arm.

"Millie..." He lightly jostled her to get her to respond as he examined her.

At the feeling of him shaking her, she slowly averted her gaze to him, her eyes glazed over with pain. One of them was all swollen and black, to the point she could barely open it.

The centurion just gazed at her for a minute, then looked up as Pikepaw and Mintpaw emerged from the hole. He carefully picked Millie up in his arms as he rose to his feet.

"Follow me, you two," he said, looking back at them as he started to leave. "I'm taking you to safety."

* * *

The girl kicked at some dried leaves under her feet as she wandered through the fields, vaguely aware of the sounds of battle coming from the town nearby. She paused to look up as a few birds flew by before she continued on.

Suddenly, as she started down an old path, she saw something glittering and shining on the ground beneath her feet. She stepped back to see what it was.

It was a ring. A golden ring, with intricate designs colored red decorating its exterior.

She curiously picked up the ring and examined it. As she put it on her finger and held her hand up to the light, she didn't notice when a strange feeling came over her, and a tiny voice, almost inaudible, started to seemingly emanate from the ring.

 _"Either I'm crazy or...I'm the ring! I can't just sit around...I have to try to do something...Okay, move!"_

* * *

Arlon looked up from surveying the garden when the rustled hum of flapping wings sounded from above. Approaching the temple was a centurion strongarm, with a girl the same age as Pit in his arms. Following close behind him were two angel kids, one of which bore a very close resemblance to Pit.

As the the strongarm landed on the entrance path, Arlon went up to them and straightened up a bit.

"What is a centurion doing in front of Mistress Viridi's domain?"

The centurion dipped his head.

"My name is Chiron. I came here with the anticipation that you and your goddess could provide us shelter here."

Arlon looked the centurion strongarm up and down.

"For what reason did you choose to seek refuge here, and not elsewhere?"

"It was the only option I know of in which I would not be endangering these kids, or their mother."

He gestured to the girl he was carrying. She softly moaned and partially opened her eyes, wearily gazing up at Arlon.

Arlon averted his gaze to her, and examined her for a long moment. She was a mess of blood and filth, bruises and scrapes marking her skin where it was exposed. The torn remains of her clothes hung loosely on her body, revealing her sides, where her rib cage appeared to be pushing against her skin, visibly expanding and retracting as she breathed.

After some time, Arlon returned his gaze to Chiron.

"Personally, I would let you shelter here, but this is not my decision to make. You will have to speak with Mistress Viridi about this."

Arlon retreated into the temple. A few minutes later, he came back out along with the goddess of nature.

"So I hear you want to shelter in my domain," she said as she approached.

Chiron nodded once. "Yes, I do."

"Why? And what's with the girl you're carrying?"

The centurion looked down at her, then back at the goddess.

"Her name is Millie. She is partners with Pit, and was brought to Skyworld following the start of the uprising. According to Pit, she wanted to be brought there so she could supervise their little ones."

He gestured to the two kids standing next to him.

"I came here in search of shelter because it was for the benefit of these three. It would ensure the safety of these kids, and Millie would get the treatment she needs. I do not really know the severity of her wounds, but judging from how fast she's lost a lot of blood, she will certainly die if she isn't tended to."

"I see..."

Viridi closed her eyes for a moment.

"I will let you stay in my domain, but only for the time being. Once it is safe for you to return to your own realm, you are to leave right away."

"I understand. And I am grateful for your help."

The goddess gave him a somewhat nasty look, but said nothing as she led him into her temple. Once inside, Arlon took the lead, and Viridi headed off in a different direction.

Arlon led the centurion to a large room made mostly out of a gold-colored metal, with circular designs on the walls. Near the door was a large window, where green and red vines entered and snaked across the wall. Across from the bed a small tree had broken through the floor, and wildflowers grew in a patch of dirt next to it.

"This was part of my Lunar Sanctum," Arlon explained. "Dark Pit used it as his living quarters in the time leading up to when he fought his equal three years ago. I brought it here after my Sanctum was destroyed so I could use it, but ever since Viridi had her troops construct a set of living quarters for me, this room has had no use. You may use it until you can return to your place in the skies."

Chiron nodded at him as he went in, and set Millie down on the bed, laying her down on her side so the arrow in her calf wouldn't break off, or get lodged in further. As the centurion set about removing the arrows, Arlon left to get some things for him, a feeling of odd warmth filling him as he went down the hall.

 _I must admit I am rather fond of the angel...perhaps it is a sign of something to come that his partner and children were brought here..._


	13. An Unlikely Alliance

The sounds of monsters and flapping wings filled his ears as he came to. A cold breeze brought the smell of blood and death to his nostrils, mingling with the fresher scent of grass and wet earth. Shifting his stiff limbs and stretching his wings, it took him a moment to realize he was lying on his side, and whatever he was lying on was rough and moist. After a minute or two of taking in and processing all this sensory input, he raised his head up a bit and slowly worked his eyes open partway.

Almost instantly he sat upright in utter confusion. He was in the middle of a grassy plain, on the side of a cliff. Not far off into the distance was a town, where centurions and underworld monsters were swarming around. The sky above was shadowed by gray clouds.

On a whim, he looked down and examined himself. The blood scent apparently wasn't his, for he wasn't hurt, save for a few minor scrapes on his arms. His side was thinly coated in dirt from lying on the ground, and his raven-colored wings needed to be groomed, but otherwise, he was fine.

Suddenly, as he started plucking out mangled feathers from his wings, a bright light appeared in the corner of his vision, right above the town. It hovered there for a second, then started heading his way. As it got closer and closer, he realized he could make out a thin figure against the shimmering light. It became noticeable that the light was trailing behind the figure's wings as it flew overhead, and he knew then it was his lighter twin. The angel started to rapidly ascend into the sky as he passed over the cliffs, eventually disappearing into the clouds.

It wasn't until then that it occurred to him there was a strange feeling in his head, but not because he'd just returned to his senses. It was the feeling like something was wrong. Something that didn't make any sense.

 _Physically, I feel like I just came out of a coma...but subconsciously, it just feels like I've been in a fog...I can vaguely remember being aware of my surroundings...the sounds, sights...but those memories don't feel like they're mine...I barely even feel like I'm me...but what could cause this?...and how long have I been like this anyway?_

At the exact moment that question formed in his head, he realized that the last thing he could readily recall was battling it out with his doppelgänger in Arlon's Lunar Sanctum. And that was about three years ago.

 _Three years...for three whole years, I was not myself...but that doesn't explain why I wasn't myself in that time...yet...wait..._

 _I remember seeing Pit...during those three years...but he wasn't the same either...it was like...it was just his physical form, without a soul...but why would that cause me to...not be myself?...unless..._

The dark angel subconsciously got up and took off.

* * *

 _"Well, there's nothing more we can do here. Come on, Pit."_

The angel shut his eyes in frustration as bright light engulfed him, and his surroundings fuzzed out for a second, before he descended out of it, landing in the entrance hall of Viridi's domain. The nature goddess quickly showed him where all his stuff was before leaving him on his own.

Surprisingly, the layout of the entrance hall was almost identical to the one in Palutena's temple. The only difference was that most everything was made of natural materials, and alive with lush vegetation. Butterflies of all different colors fluttered among the beds of flowers, and the trees that served as pillars were filled with bird nests. It kind of reminded him of the forest.

He'd begun to recall his old memories of his time in Suntribe when a firm hand on his shoulder made him jump, and he quickly whipped around to see, much to his shock, Arlon.

For a moment, Pit just stared at him in utter disbelief.

"I...I thought I killed you! What in the world are you doing here?!"

Arlon just dipped his head.

"Hard to believe, I know. The truth is, you may have been victorious in our confrontation in my Lunar Sanctum, but the damage you did was not enough to take my life. Following our battle, Mistress Viridi sent some of her troops in to retrieve me and bring me here, to recover. I have resided here ever since."

"Then how come your Lunar Sanctum fell when I defeated you?"

"Because it had become masterless with my departure from it. I suppose it could easily be restored now, but it is not needed."

Arlon started to leave, then stopped and looked back.

"Come with me, Pit. There is someone here who wishes to see you."

Although a bit hesitantly, he followed the commander down a small hall that ended in a single door with circular designs on it that Pit recognized from the Lunar Sanctum. Arlon opened the door for the angel, and the minute he went in, his eyes went wide when he saw his old mentor standing in the middle of the room.

The centurion just chuckled as the angel ran up and hugged him. Although it seemed like a childish thing to do, he knew Pit hadn't seen him for so long, and he gently positioned his own arms around the angel. After a few moments, he took his arms away as Pit let go and stepped back to look up at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"It is complicated my reason for being here, Pit. I can tell you though the reason I am not in Skyworld is because Lady Palutena has rejected me as one of her soldiers, and will drive me out should I attempt to return. Just as she has rejected you."

"Oh. Makes sense. I mean, you do have a human soul."

He played with the crystal hanging from the centurion's neck. Chiron looked down at it and nodded.

"That is also why I brought them here."

He gestured to the side. Pit curiously looked in that direction, and was both shocked and relieved when he saw his kids curled up side-by-side on the floor, and Millie lying on the bed, bruised and bloody. She slowly raised her head a bit and gazed at him, her face contorted with pain.

The angel was at a complete loss for words as he went up and examined her. She was so beaten up and covered in blood that she looked like she'd just come out of being tortured. Almost every bone in her body was visible and defined, and her skin was almost gray, revealing webs of bluish veins underneath.

Millie weakly reached up to stroke his cheek, wincing when intense pain shot up her arm from the wound on her shoulder. Keeping his gaze locked with hers, he gently gripped her hand in both of his, feeling the bones in her fingers. Her hand felt really delicate, and cold to the touch.

After a few moments of taking all this in, Pit looked back at the centurion, with a worried look on his face.

"What happened to her?"

Chiron dipped his head a bit.

"Some of it is beyond me, but what I do know for certain is she received most of her wounds in a fight against three strongarms, defending her little ones as any mother would do. I did not see everything that happened during that fight, but at the time I stepped in to help, she was about to be killed, from a shot that would have pierced her throat."

As if to confirm the centurion's words, Millie softly grunted to get Pit's attention, then turned her head to the side, revealing a long, clean cut on her jaw, where she'd been grazed by the arrow that failed to hit its intended target.

It genuinely scared the angel when she closed her eyes and seemingly went limp, and he nudged her to try and wake her up, but Chiron went up and put his arm around Pit's shoulders, shaking his head at him.

"Let her rest, Pit. She needs it."

"But-"

"She isn't going to die, if that is what you are thinking. I have seen people survive worse injuries than this."

Pit just nodded slightly, then subconsciously walked over to where his kids were curled up on the floor. They too, weren't much more than skin and bones, and equally as pale as Millie, if not slightly paler. Mintpaw had lost some of her hair, and there were small patches of bare skin showing on Pikepaw's wings.

Both apprentices wearily looked up when Pit approached, aroused by the sound of his footsteps drawing near. They immediately perked up, their eyes widened with surprise, when they realized who it was.

"Daddy...!"

Pit smiled and got down on one knee as they ran up to hug him. Mintpaw insistently nuzzled her head up under his chin, softly whimpering in a mix of joy and relief, and he lightly rested his head on top of hers, stroking her as he firmly held her close. Pikepaw leaned against the angel's shoulder, sighing contently when Pit blanketed both of them with his wings, as though he was trying to protect them from something.

After a few minutes, Pit loosened his hold on the two, returning his wings to their place of his back, and straightened up a bit, his gaze meeting theirs. Mintpaw reached forward and grasped the hem of his chiton.

"Why were you gone for so long? Where have you been?"

He anxiously rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's a long story. But I guess to put it simply, I somehow got turned into a ring while my real form roamed around for three years, mindlessly attacking people and destroying stuff. Through the help of a friend, Magnus, I was able to get my body back, and then I got Viridi's help in flying back to Skyworld, only to find out Lady Palutena is being manipulated, and wouldn't let me get into her temple using the force field around it, so I was brought here."

"Oh..." She paused for a minute. "What does 'being manipulated' mean?"

"It means someone or something has taken over you, and is controlling what you do and say without you knowing anything. Quite literally, it's like you're a puppet being controlled by a puppet master. I couldn't tell you from experience what it's like, because I've never been in that kind of situation before, but I do know of some people who have."

"Like Gaol?" Pikepaw piped up. The tom smiled when Pit looked up at him in surprise.

"Yes, like her. She didn't know what she was doing while she was a Dark Lord. All she knew was orders given to her and the act of following them. I don't doubt she was fighting in there to break free of the Underworld's control, though. For how deeply she seemed to have submitted to the Underworld Army, she's tough."

"So Palutena has no idea what she's doing or why," Mintpaw concluded. "She's being controlled by someone or something else."

Pit averted his gaze back to her, and nodded.

"Yes. I don't know what has decided to take over her, but it's something big. I can just feel it. And I have to stop it somehow. Bring an end to all this chaos."

Chiron suddenly felt a spark of recognition go off at that last statement. It reminded him of something he'd heard not too long ago. It sounded like some kind of omen. But what was it?

 _Bring an end to chaos...bring order to chaos...light and dark must accept this bond...if they are to bring order to chaos..._

 _Within two bodies is the same soul...light and dark must accept this bond and keep the other alive, if they are to bring order to chaos._

The centurion impulsively approached Pit from behind and put his hand on the angel's shoulder. Pit looked back at him, surprised.

"What?"

For a second, the centurion hesitated and looked down at the floor, a bit unsure of himself. Then, without thinking...

"Within two bodies is the same soul...light and dark must accept this bond and keep the other alive...if they are to bring order to chaos."

He raised his head and nodded once in understanding when he saw the baffled look on Pit's face.

"That was a prophecy given to me about a year ago. You reminded me of it when you mentioned bringing an end to this chaos."

"What does it mean?"

"I have yet to find out or figure that out myself. But I have given it much thought, and I have come to the conclusion that it is foretelling of something to come that will bring an end to what has become of our world."

"I wonder who are what the 'light and dark' is in the prophecy. I can't think of anything or anyone with that kind of connection, where they share souls. Is that even possible?"

"Not with the way our world works in regards to souls. Not usually. But I think there is not enough evidence yet for us to work with in figuring this out. We will learn of its meaning when the time comes."


End file.
